Allie Sapinski: The American Muggleborn
by Madison Alexandria Price
Summary: Allie Sapinski just thought that she was different, but on her eleventh birthday everything changes, and she's thrown head first into the magical world of witches and wizards. Too soon, though, she realizes that sometimes, some things are too good to be true. Not completely AU, just set in the future and in the U.S. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, just the plot.


April 23, 2019-

Allie Sapinski was not a normal girl. In fact, if you described what normal was, she would add the adjective 'boring'. Ever since she was a toddler, she was able to make unexplainable things happen. When she was 3, a violent rainstorm appeared during one of her temper tantrums, so strong that it uprooted trees. The catch? Before the storm, the day had been beautiful with clear skies and the sun shining. Even the weathermen were baffled, saying they saw nothing on the radar, not even a small cloud.

And again when Allie was 7, she was put in timeout by a teacher for splattering paint all over another student. When asked, she swore she didn't do anything, that the student had made her angry and the red paint just flew off the desk and into his face. It turned out that the paint was permanent, which just added salt to the wound. Red-Face Randy never got over it.

Her family had no idea what to do with her. Allie's father decided not to go to doctors or specialists, because besides of the few little mishaps, his daughter was just as normal as any other girl. She was an only child, which was most likely because Allie needed both of her parents' full attention.

Allie was snapped out of a daydream involving a bird-horse hybrid by the sound of a soft knocking on her door. She looked up to find her mom peering inside at her. "Allie, your friend is here. He mentioned something about walking to the park..?-"

"Yes!" Allie exclaimed, and jumped off of her bed, zooming past her mom and down the stairs, almost running into her dad and knocking them both down.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Allie's dad asked jokingly.

Allie grinned apologetically up at him. "Sorry, dad. Is he-?"

"Outside," was his only reply, gesturing behind him to the open door.

Allie walked hurriedly past the threshold of her house and outside into the West Texas sun. He was standing a little ways away from the porch, hands deep in his jean pockets. "Hey, Tyler!" She greeted as she approached him.

Tyler Hallaway was Allie's best and only friend. The rest of the class of 4th-graders-soon-to-be-5th-graders knew about the strange things that happened when Allie was around. For a few years, everybody picked on her and no one wanted to be her friend. It had gotten to the point where Allie would come home breathing heavily and sporting a few nasty bruises.

That was when her dad decided to sign her up for a martial arts class. A few weeks afterwards, a new kid arrived from Arkansas, saying his name was Tyler Hallaway.

In an unfortunate series of events, that was also the first day Allie had to use her newly acquired martial arts skills against the two class bullies, Red-Face Randy (who still looked pink), and his wingman, Paton, while in recess. They had been picking on Allie for awhile, calling her names and mocking her. Finally, she had enough and called them some names in return, which only made them start to trip her up and shove her to ground etc. In the face of being bullied, Allie completely forgot all of what she had been taught the past two weeks, and resorted to what she usually did: wait it out until they got bored. Tyler, having saw this, ran over and told the two bullies to leave Allie alone. When it showed that Tyler wasn't going to back off, they walked away, muttering to each other, intent on spreading the word that 'the new kid Tyler is a freak lover'.

And that is how Allie and Tyler became friends. For the next two years, her and Tyler were inseparable, sticking up for each other, always picking each other for partners. As Allie would progress in her martial arts class, she would then try to teach it to Tyler. Likewise, Tyler, who was adept at piano, had begun to teach it to Allie, but soon realized that it was impossible to teach it to her, as it was hard for Allie to sit still for long periods of time.

Allie shook herself from her thoughts as Tyler began to speak. "Hey, Allie."

It was silent for awhile as they walked together to the local park. They did this almost every day. Usually, they played around on the playground, or would make up a game. When they got tired of playing, they'd lay in the grass and watched the sky pass by. Today was no different.

After swinging on the swing set for a bit, they pretended that they were gardeners, and that the untended field of grass was their garden. Eventually, after digging and playing around in the dirt, Allie, looking at a patch of grass without any flowers, crouched and, as though her hand had a mind of its own, she touched the area with the tip of her index finger, her only thought being: _Grow_. To Tyler and her's surprise, a couple dozen wildflowers grew from the soil, growing as if on fast forward. Soon, the once grassy area was filled with wildflowers of every color. "Whoa!" They breathed in unison. The two friends spent the next half hour picking the flowers to give to their parents.

During that time, the conversation always shifted from one thing to another. At one point, Tyler had asked if they were going to be best friends for the rest of school. The only thing Allie could say was, "I hope so."

The two walked home slowly, not ready to leave each other's company. When they reached the point where they had to go their separate ways, they paused. Tyler turned to her. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," he said, and before Allie could say anything, he walked swiftly away. Despite his statement, Allie couldn't help but think that he was wrong.

April 24, 2019-

That night, Allie was woken up by a loud, resounding knock on the front door of their house. Groggily, she wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked at the digital clock on her bedside table. It read 12:00 am. Allie groaned and got out of bed, almost stumbling multiple times in the pitch black of her room, and opened the door to her room. She saw her dad making his way quietly down the stairs, clad in pajamas and baseball bat. Noticing her, her father gestured for her to be quiet and continued down the stairs, stopping at the front door. "Who is it?" He asked through the oak wood of the door.

"Mr. Sapinski," came a woman's voice,"I apologize for my coming this late, but we need an early start to the day to fit everything in. My name is Jovanna Rathburn, I'm the dean of a University in Pennsylvania. I'm here to speak to you about your very talented daughter. May I come in?"

It took Allie a minute to process the information that this woman just spoke. A dean of a University in Pennsylvania wished to talk to her parents about her? Why couldn't she have come later in the day? What were they going to do that would take up the whole day? As Allie's thoughts spun inside of her head, meanwhile, her father spoke again, "How do you know my last name?"

"All will be explained in due time, Mr. Sapinski, but, if you don't mind, it's a little windy out here..." Cautiously, her dad opened the door, and Allie had to catch herself before she gasped out loud.

Jovanna Rathburn, the supposed dean of a University, looked like the exact opposite. She was wearing what looked like an orange colored robe under a turquoise cloak. Her robe had tiny designs all over it, but from this far away and the house still being pitch black, Allie couldn't quite make them out. She looked around her late forties, early fifties. Besides her eccentric attire, the rest of the dean's appearance gave off the impression of a seasoned teacher. The dean stood rim-rod straight, her stance not quite haughty, certainly formal. Her black hair was tied in a tight, professional bun and her face was covered in age wrinkles, centered mostly around her forehead and under both of her dark brown eyes.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Allie's dad asked her. She cringed, waiting for a scolding from the dean for her dad's rudeness. But it never came.

"That, Mr. Sapinski, is another thing we need to talk about," she replied with a twitch of her lips. Suddenly, Jovanna Rathburn looked up and spotted Allie peering at her through the crack in her bedroom doorway. "Ah, there you are, Miss Sapinski."Allie's dad turned and looked at her at the dean's words. Jovanna Rathburn continued as if nothing happened. "Now the only person we need to wake is the missus. Mr. Sapinski, I suppose you'll do that?"

Soon, they were all seated in the living room, Allie's mom still half asleep, her dad still suspicious. Allie herself didn't know what to think. An old woman shows up in the middle of the night, wearing colorful robes, claiming to be a dean of a University in Pennsylvania. She wasn't sure if this was some prank that they pull and record it all on live T.V. in some reality T.V. show. Now that they were closer, Allie could make out the designs on the dean's orange robes to be stars, moons, and something that looked suspiciously like horses with no hair. As soon as everyone was situated, Jovanna Rathburn began to speak. "Right. Now, again, I apologize about the time, but if I hadn't came this early, it would have been impossible to fit everything into one day." Allie's dad opened his mouth to speak, but Jovanna Rathburn stopped him. "Mr. Sapinski, I have a lot to talk about, so if you could save all of your questions until I'm done, I'd appreciate it very much." Allie's dad, though seemingly reluctant, nodded after a moment of thought. "Thank you.

"As I said, I'm here to speak to you about your daughter," the dean started, but seeing Allie's parents' worried looks, hurried to reassure them. "There's nothing wrong with her, and she's not in any trouble." Jovanna Rathburn turned to Allie. "Miss Sapinski, do you remember anything strange that has happened, maybe to either you or someone else, probably when you were angry, that you couldn't explain?" Allie nodded slowly, not speaking. Jovanna Rathburn smiled at her. "Well, where I'm from, we have a special name for that. We call it magic." The way she said it, with such casualness and normality, that Allie fully expected cameramen to pop out of hiding places and yell, "Gotcha!"

But nothing happened. The living room stayed the same, though Allie could tell her parents were dying to interject. Jovanna Rathburn sat there with her normal serious expression. Allie realized that she was waiting for her to speak. She thought about what was said. "You're saying that what happens to me, that's not bad luck, or me being possessed like in those scary movies- that what I can do is actually magic? That I'm some sort of wizard?"

"The female counterpart for wizard is witch, but with all detail aside at the moment, yes, that is what I'm saying. You, Miss Sapinski, are a witch."

There was a moment of shocked silence. Then- "Now wait just a minute-" "What are you talking about-?" "You can't be serious-"

"Oh, but I am," Jovanna Rathburn cut all of the exclamations off. "There is another world, completely hidden from the non-magical folk- Muggles, as we say, that has been there for centuries, one filled with magic-"

"You're delusional!" Allie's father exclaimed, standing, intent on throwing this woman from their home.

Jovanna Rathburn did not react, only continued to sit there calmly, as if she was used to being called mentally disturbed. "I guess I'll just have to prove it to you." And with that, she reached into the sleeve of her cloak. Afterwards, several things happened at once: Jovanna Rathburn pulled out what looked like a drumstick, a bit longer than a ruler. Allie's mom took Allie in her arms and ducked, yelling, "Get down!"

Allie's dad lunged at the dean, but the elderly woman only dodged, laughing. "Oh, please, Mr. Sapinski, I was only going to conjure something. I mean you no harm, I just need a demonstration to prove to you that wizards and witches are real." She paused, allowing the Sapinskis to gather themselves before continuing. Jovanna Rathburn nodded, looking satisfied. "Without further ado," the dean murmured, raising the drumstick which Allie now assumed to be a wand, and flicked it ever so slightly.

What happened next was so unbelievable, Allie was almost convinced she was still dreaming. All around the room, pictures began to wiggle, lamps flickered on and off, the ceiling fan started spinning of its own accord. Their huge stack of movies began to shuffle itself into a new order, and, finally, in the center of the room, a tiny kitten appeared, only to transform into a small desk. Soon, everything went still, the pictures righted themselves, the lamps stayed off, the ceiling fan stopped spinning, and the movie stack finished shuffling. All that was left was the tiny kitten turned desk.

All three Sapinskis sat in a stunned silence. But before they could say anything, the desk started to rattle. Something was inside that wanted to get out. The rattling began to get more violent until the drawer suddenly popped open, and out zooms a...bird? It was a small, reddish bird which flew towards Allie, and, ignoring her parents' cries of warning, cupped her hands to let it land. As it landed, the bird transformed before her eyes into a single, pink tulip.

It was unbelievable. What just took place was supposed to be impossible by the laws of nature and science. And Jovanna Rathburn claimed that what that was was magic.

"That last part was a very beautiful bit of magic if I do say so myself," the dean continued. She opened her mouth to begin to speak again, but Allie cut her off.

"Mrs. Rathburn-" she began, pausing to correct herself when Jovanna Rathburn interjected saying, "It's Professor Rathburn, actually-" "Professor Rathburn, what you mean to tell us is that I can do all that, that magic?"

Professor Rathburn gave Allie a small smile. "After a proper education, then yes, you will be able to do that, and so much more. But first, for the sake of your parents, I must explain.

"Magic has been around since as long as us wizards and witches can remember. The wizarding world, how us magic folk call it, has always been a part of society. You," the professor gestured to Allie's parents, "are Muggles, or non magical folk. We keep our world a secret from you Muggles strictly for our convenience." Seeing the confused looks from all three Sapinskis, Professor Rathburn elaborated. "If Muggles knew about wizards, then they'd be coming to us to solve all of their problems, whether it be war and politics to advancement in technology.

"So, the University that I'm the dean of, Hogwarts University, is actually a boarding school for wizards and witches ages eleven through seventeen, the year they become adults in the wizarding world. It currently resides in Pennsylvania, somewhere in the Quehanna Wild Area. Hogwarts University, and its British counterpart in Scotland, were founded with the sole purpose of educating young wizards and witches in the magical art..."

It was awhile before Professor Rathburn finshed her synopsis of Hogwarts University. What Allie gathered from all of it, was there were two terms for each year, the first starting on September 1st and ending December 18th, the second starting January 8th and ending June 16th. She was then handed an envelope addressed to her. "It's your Hogwarts University acceptance letter," Professor Rathburn explained. "It includes a signed statement from me of your acceptance into Hogwarts University, and everything that you require for your first school year, which is uniforms, textbooks, and other equipment. You can find everything in New York City, but if we're to make just a day of it, I suggest we leave by 2 o'clock. That will give us enough time to reach the airport. Our flight leaves at four, and that will take three and a half hours. That would be the best time to bombard me with questions." Professor Rathburn rattled off their schedule as if she'd said it a lot of times.

Allie glanced at her parents. Because their jobs paid better than most, they were able to have one big trip a year, but New York City? Allie thought that all of this was awesome. A witch comes in the middle of the night and basically says, 'The reason you've been bullied all your life is because you can do magic.' Allie couldn't help but feel awe and excitement after Professor Rathburn did her demonstration. One day, maybe she could do that. '_I bet magical subjects are better than math,' _Allie thought to herself. She couldn't wait to see this place in New York City, but she knew that her parents needed some convincing.

"...pay for both flights, so don't worry," the professor was saying. "All you have to pay for is the required items, and I'm sure you can delve into Allie's college funds. First year is most expensive, you see, and-"

"Wait just a minute," Allie's dad interrupted. "We didn't say anything about agreeing to send our daughter off to Pennsylvania. I admit that what you did- that magic- couldn't be fake. But I'd like to know a bit more about what I'm sending my daughter to before we hitch a ride to NYC."

"Mr. Sapinski, I assure you that I will explain everything on the flight. Seeing magic done firsthand should be enough incentive to want your daughter to be educated. Young witches and wizards who don't yet know how to control their magic are very dangerous, especially when they have a very strong emotion. That is another reason why schools for witches and wizards have been founded. To help the young witch or wizard to control their magic."

Allie's parents still looked dubious. A jolt of panic went through her at the thought of her parents not allowing her to go to a magic school. Allie turned to her parents. "Please let me go, please? This is the best thing that's happened to me since you signed me up for martial arts! I promise I won't get into any trouble, I'll have good grades, I'll even write to you every week! Just, please, let me go to a wizard school!" And that's when the light bulb in the ceiling fan exploded.

Allie and her parents screamed, but no glass fell towards them, just bits of sand. They looked to the professor, who had her wand out. "And that is what I was talking about. The light bulb had just been flickering for awhile, but your anxiety pushed its limit." Professor Rathburn turned to Allie's parents again. "Going to Hogwarts University will help Allie control what just happened. But let me make something clear," the professor paused, waiting for a confirmation from Allie's parents to go on, "magic is not a _bad_ thing. Just the opposite, really. It makes a lot of things easier. But, magic is a tool. Like a gun, it could be used for good, or for bad. If not mastered, it could be very dangerous."

Allie's father nodded. He looked to Allie's mom, and a silent conversation passed between the two. Allie sat with bated breath. If her parents still didn't let her go, then she didn't know what she'd do. She was contemplating the pros and cons of running away when her father finally spoke. "Alright, we'll allow Allie to get this education or yours. But," he added before I could have a victory dance, "on the flight, I want to know everything about this school, magic, and anything else. Understood?"

Professor Rathburn gave her first full smile that night. "Completely."

"Yes!" Allie exclaimed, and proceeded to dance a little victory jig.


End file.
